Cadmium and Lead Toxicology

I am trying to answer a study question for my toxicolgy class but cannot find any reference to the question in the texts. The question reads:

A low protein diet can result in increased blood levels of cadmium and lead. Propse a reason for this effect and describe the mechanism(s)that would be involved in causing this observed response.

Solution Preview

This is a very interesting question. The link between low-protein diets and increased susceptibility to cadmium toxicity has been know since the 1970's. A quick search at pubmed.com using the keywords low-protein diet and cadmium will bring back many current research papers on the subject. To get to the heart of why low-protein diets lead to cadmium absorption we must first look at the minerals involved. Cadmium, Lead, Zinc, Calcium and Iron are among several divalent metal cations (metal ion with 2 less electrons; 2+). While iron, zinc and calcium are needed for normal ...

Solution Summary

Detailed paragraph and web references examining the link between low protein diets and cadmium and lead poisoning.